Ladies- Serving size & appetite questions

[DisneyBeagle]

What is a normal serving size for you when you go out to eat? Can you eat an entire 6" sub sandwich? Do you usually get a combo meal and eat the burger and fries yourself?

This may seem like a weird question, but I have been pondering it for a while. I will go out to eat with a couple of different friends and 3-4 bites into a sandwich they will say they are stuffed. I, on the other hand, eat my entire sandwich, fries and could probably finish off what they didn't eat.

I have read a few posts on the budget board about families that go out to eat. Each member of the family gets a small hamburger (think McDonald's small hamburger) and they share an order of fries. Some of the women eat a small burger and 3 or 4 fries.

I know serving sizes are usually huge in restaurants, but there's no way that 4 bites of food fills me up. I was just wondering if other women are this way or if I'm alone.

 

[sweet angel]

I'm with you. I don't understand the people that will say, "Oh, I had a salad (or bowl of soup) for lunch and I'm STUFFED!"

I could eat a 55gal drum of salad and still be hungry 4 minutes later. It just doesn't fill me.

If I go to Wawa for a sandwich, I TRY to get the junior (3 or 4") sized sub, rather than the shortie (6") because although I can and WILL eat the 6" sub, I really shouldn't.

I have no problem finishing a full meal.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I eat the same way you do...except I usually go for the footlong sub.

It really depends on my appetite though. Somedays I'm starving and other days I don't want to eat much at all. In fact, I find that my appetite has shrunk lately. Like last night, I was sitting at the computer around midnight when I decided to go to bed. I got up from my chair and was wondering why my stomach was growling. Then I remembered...I had forgotten to eat dinner! But, yeah, I attribute that to stress, since I've been very stressed out lately for various reasons. Usually I have a pretty normal appetite (well, I think it's normal anyway ).

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I can't finish an entire combo meal at McDonalds or Burger King, but I will finish a 6" sandwich. I usually always get either a cheese or veggie only sandwich.

It really depends on the day and exactly what food it is for me. Can eat a whole bag of reese's peanut butter cups in one sitting with no problem but I can't finish a 3 pack of chicken strip at McD's

 

[kelleigh1]

I can eat an entire 6" sub - sometimes I can even eat an entire 12", but I don't do that too often. I also eat my own combo meal many times.

Hubby and I do often share too though. It all depends on how hungry we are. We will sometimes each get a sandwich off the $1 menu and split a small fry - sometimes to save $ and sometimes because we're just not that hungry.

I've never been one to just eat 2-3 bites and declare myself full. If I wasn't that hungry to begin with, I'd just order a smaller item.

 

[Kath2003]

What is a normal serving size for you when you go out to eat? Can you eat an entire 6" sub sandwich? Do you usually get a combo meal and eat the burger and fries yourself?

Heck I could easily eat a 12" sub! I'd also eat a combo meal. I've eaten an entire large Dominos before but that HURT

Do I do these things? No. 1. It's expensive and 2. I don't NEED that much food - a 6" sub is perfectly satisfying

I'd eat all day if I could, but I'd be the size of a house and permanently full. I watch what I eat and am realistic - I love to gorge at places like TGI Fridays - burger, fries and a side of onion rings - but if I do that I have a VERY small lunch because I know I'll be eating a lot that evening.

 

[CheshireVal]

I can eat big serving sizes, no problem. I have to be careful about it, though! I gained weight after I got married because I was eating along with my husband. If he had seconds, I did. If he super-sized, I wanted to as well.

I'm trying to be more careful now, but it's hard when you have a big appetite!

 

[DisneyBeagle]

If I wasn't that hungry to begin with, I'd just order a smaller item.

I guess that's where my whole problem lies. I will order the combo meal even if I'm not that hungry....and finish it.

I've also noticed that the sensation that I am full doesn't kick in for a lot longer than many people. I will be halfway home after eating at a restaurant, and then I finally feel full.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Nope, 4 bites does not constitute a 'normal' or nutritionally complete meal. Not even lunch. 4 bites does not sound like it could possibly truly 'stuff' anyone. That does not sound normal or healthy at all.

Sounds like perhaps there is some dieting and one-up-manship going on????

We all know how fattening fast food can be. I don't want to imagine how much I would weigh if I had a combo for lunch on a regular basis. I usually order something lighter, or just eat the meat off the sandwich, skipping the bread, and maybe a few fries. So, yes we do almost always split fries.

But,yes, I could easily eat a combo, since I usually have very little breakfast. And, in no way does that constitute eating 4 bites and then being stuffed.

 

[Kath2003]

I've also noticed that the sensation that I am full doesn't kick in for a lot longer than many people. I will be halfway home after eating at a restaurant, and then I finally feel full.

Me too. I ALWAYS wait an hour before I have seconds, because if I just wait 10-15 minutes I'll just eat. After an hour, I feel really full. I think the message from your stomach to your brain is just slower in people like us. I always tell myself, "you CAN have dessert, but not until 9pm" - by then, I'm still registering as full from dinner and half the time don't want it. If I had it straight after a meal, I'd devour it!

 

[diznygirl]

I have those friends too. Drives me nuts! They are starving themselves and counting every calorie.... and fooling themselves into thinking that it will help them lose weight. It's been 3-4 years and it hasn't worked yet....

I stop when I'm full - I can eat the entire Big Mac, but not finish the fries!

 

[helenabear]

I have a smaller appetite, and it depends on how hungry I am. Normally when I haven't had breakfast, I can eat a 6" sub with little fixings and some chips (not a full bag usually). I also only eat kid's meals as well. Once in a while i have an appetite for a full sandwich with small fries, but even then at times I have to give my fries away to my DH or friends.

My DH has a similar "problem" with eating. He doesn't feel full as quickly as others. He is trying o stay healthy so he asks me how much he should eat before he quits now Unlike me, I feel full quickly and have to pass it off... guess I don't help him too much

 

[RitaZ.]

This may seem like a weird question, but I have been pondering it for a while. I will go out to eat with a couple of different friends and 3-4 bites into a sandwich they will say they are stuffed. I, on the other hand, eat my entire sandwich, fries and could probably finish off what they didn't eat.

I couldn't eat all that. When I'm stressed, I don't eat very much. It's just the way I've always been. There can be many reasons why some people don't eat very much.

I eat until I feel full. Sometimes it's more than others, but when I get that full feeling, that's it for me. Sometimes I go beyond that point when something is really good or if I eat dessert. I don't like the feeling of being too full, though. When I go to Sweet Tomatoes, one of the employees always comments how little I eat. I don't think that's the case at all. I just wonder how much more other people eat.

 

[DisneyBeagle]

Nope,
Sounds like perhaps there is some dieting and one-up-manship going on????

I guess maybe that should be my question then: For those of you that do get full only eating part of a combo or sandwich, are you truly full or do you just know that it's time to stop because you have eaten enough calories?

 

[RitaZ.]

I guess maybe that should be my question then: For those of you that do get full only eating part of a combo or sandwich, are you truly full or do you just know that it's time to stop because you have eaten enough calories?

No, I'm truly full.

 

[FluffyPumpkin78]

I def. want to eat more than I do, but I don't. I have a really sucky metabolism.

To stay at a size 10/12 I can only eat around 1300 calories, and must exercise for 45 minutes most days of the week.

Sadly, I am hungry most of the time! There are times when I am satisfied, but I am sure I could eat some more!

 

[Honu]

My eyes are bigger than my stomach. At one sitting the most I can get down is equivalent to a child's happy meal. Small burger, small fries or apples & small drink.

Over the course of a day though, I've been know to eat an entire pie, a big loaf of bread, a batch of cookies.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Another thing about appetite and that 'wanting to eat' and 'wanting to eat more....'

I can definately tell when my thyroid is 'off' because it can cause what feels like a huge appetite. I can tell the difference now between that feeling and what a true, normal, appetite feels like. But, let me tell you, when my thyroid is low, it really can cause one to feel like they are just starving!

 

[kelleigh1]

There is one girl here at work who seems to constantly be commenting on how small my lunch is. One day in particular, I had a small bowl of potato salad. It was probably about a cup and plenty for me. She kept commenting on how that would never fill her up, but she's also the same girl who is always complaining that she wants to lose weight.

When I eat a small portion, it does fill me. But there are definitely days when I could eat an entire combo meal and dessert. I just try to control myself...even more important now that I'm watching a friend drop pounds on Weight Watchers and considering joining myself.

 

[helenabear]

I guess maybe that should be my question then: For those of you that do get full only eating part of a combo or sandwich, are you truly full or do you just know that it's time to stop because you have eaten enough calories?

I'll answer this two ways. In college I started working a lot and sleeping less. To keep up my energy I had to eat more (didn't gain weight then) I was burning a lot more calories. WHen I stopped that and got a regular sleep schedule I was eating the way I had been and I gained a lot of weight. Think of this... able to eat a whole medium pizza myself. I really became fat IMO and being 5' and nearly 200 pounds wasn't good for me.

When I lost weight, I would quit eating when I knew the calories were up. I would still be hungry feeling but I knew I couldn't have more. I would try to chew gum or drink a lot of water to get rid of the feeling of hunger. Then after about 2-3 weeks that stopped. I started feeling full.

Now when I eat I jsut get full. I had a regular roast beef at Arby's and potato cakes not too long ago. I finished the potato cakes, but had no room for about 1/4 of my sandwhich... and I had a small lunch. So I think what I eat now is right for my stomach and body if that makes sense.